“The Pope’s appeal comes at the right time. I hope it will be heard and, most importantly, that it will at least help the forces of good to come even more together “because evil must be tackled together and not in scattered way, each with their own agenda”. Mgr. Giorgio Bertin, Apostolic Administrator of Djibouti and Mogadishu, said this in an interview with SIR news agency, following Pope Francis’ appeal for Somalia, of which he spoke today at the end of the general audience. “When I say working together, I mean Somalis with one another, together with the international community – he explains -. Our role as Catholics is to be present and to accompany. Also because we have a long tradition of commitment to mankind and Somalia. The Church has been present in southern Somalia since 1904 and then with my Franciscan brothers since 1930. Several people have given their lives for the good of the Somali people, as Annalena Tonelli, Bishop Salvatore Colombo, Father Pietro Turati, and Graziella Fumagalli from Caritas Italy”. According to Mgr. Bertin “Christians and Muslims can work together”. The most beautiful experience in these years, he points out, “was finding out that there are so many people of good will – Muslims and atheists – among the population. It is important that all of us are committed to working together for the same purpose”. “There have been several international conferences in the past – he says – but I often had the feeling that those organizing them wanted to pursue their own agenda, in the interest of their country”. He therefore suggests putting “the interests of the Somali people at the centre of our attention”; in this regard, “the Somali diaspora could play an important role” in drawing up a serious agenda that truly cares for the good of Somalia.